


to live without a lifeline

by orphan_account



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Nightwing (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Court of Owls, Dick Grayson is a Talon, Gen, Mild Language, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:48:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21621727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: It wasn't the first time Talon had saved someone in need, but it was the first time he'd taken them back to his home, and yes, this was unmistakably a terrible idea, but he couldn't remember the last time he'd ever been this happy.In other words, Talon would rather die before he'd let anyone lay a hand on Jason ever again.
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Jason Todd
Comments: 15
Kudos: 174





	to live without a lifeline

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Uh, this is my first fic in since I was 12 so like, I apologize for any shittiness  
> Title taken from Earth - Sleeping At Last, and chapter title from Home - Edwarde Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

**Gotham, Late November 2009**

The boy, Talon thought, was surprisingly small for all his apparent bluster. All the yelling and kicking were obviously attempting to make up for his lack of height, trying to present himself as more threatening than what he actually was. Talon knew first hand that size did not indicate power, but this child had neither. 

“-Put me _down_ , I could’a handled myself fine! I was doing per-,” 

“Quiet.” 

“-fectly okay before you came along and _kidnapped_ me! I outta-” 

“ _Quiet_.” He hissed with more emphasis than probably needed, however, it served its purpose fine and the boy finally shut up. 

For maybe all of ten seconds. 

“What makes you think you can boss me around anyway? What makes you so high and mighty-” 

The words faded into background noise as Talon sighed; intervening between the boy and the men about to attack was proving more of a hassle than it was worth. On his own, Talon could have easily outrun the men chasing them, but the struggling child held firmly over his shoulder was causing a lot of resistance, and he could still hear the men's heavy footsteps from the next street over, slowly catching up the more the boy thrashed. As lethal as Talon was, carrying, at the very _least_ 50lbs of writhing, wailing child when you weren’t much bigger was proving to be a strain. 

“They’re following you. Sh.” 

“Did you just _shush_ me?” 

“Yes. Shush. Or I’ll drop you and leave you for them.” 

And for all his bravado earlier, the boy (Jason, Talon gathered from the name the men chasing them were yelling) quietened down and stopped resisting. They were quick to lose their pursuers after that, taking turn after turn down the alleys of Gotham’s slums. Before long they found themselves in front of an abandoned apartment block, crumbling at the corners from what seemed to be an explosion, probably set off by one of the rogues, then left in a state of disrepair, most likely due to lack of funding and general care from Gotham’s upper classes. 

Talon placed Jason down onto the floor next to him and slipped through a small opening left by the explosion, a tight fit but still manageable, before turning around to look at Jason expectantly. He hesitated for a few seconds before clambering in after Talon and continued to follow him through the deserted halls before they’d arrived at their destination. Blankets, coats and other items were strewn across the place, most piled up on the mattress, void of pillows and frame, in the middle of the room, and despite the cracked windows, it looked warm. 

Talon turned around from where he was standing in the middle of the room to face Jason. “I will take you back in the morning.” 

“What? What for? I didn’t do anything!” 

“No, not to the men; your family.” 

“Oh… I, uh, I ain’t got a family anymore. I look after myself!” 

The slightly flickering lampost from outside cast a warm glow across the room, finally giving Talon a better look at the boy he'd dragged kicking and screaming back to his hideout; golden skin, freckles splattered face, deep blue eyes, and dark red hair? He couldn’t be sure; he was never good with reds. He was also far too skinny for a boy his age, (9, 10, maybe? Talon wasn't sure) baby fat all but gone leaving behind gaunt cheekbones and a hollow look in his eyes. Talon’s slow-beating heart reached out for him. 

“Oh. Okay. Stay here.” 

“Wh- No, I can’t, I-.” 

“Why not?” Talon cocked his head slightly, staring into Jason’s eyes unwaveringly. 

“I, uh… Well-... Why do you even want me to? I don’t have any money or food… You’re not going to kill me, are you? Sell me off into slavery, I won’t fetch much money so-.” 

“No. I want to..." He paused, frowning slightly. " _Help_ _you_. I want to help you. I have no family either." 

"I-," Jason frowned. 

"One week. If you still want to go, I won't stop you." 

"...Okay, fine, one week. On two conditions: any funny business and I'm out, and why'd you jump in earlier? I could've handled myself fine! Oh, and who the fuck _are_ you? I know nothing about you, apart from the fact you just basically kidnapped me. Which, not a good first impression by the way." 

"That's three." Talon pointed out, but before Jason could open his mouth to retaliate, he continued. "What's funny business?" 

"Oh, like anything suspicious." 

"No ‘ _funny business’_ ,” Talon nodded. “One of the men had a knife, you would not have won that fight. They called me Talon, sometimes Grayson. Cobb called me Richard, Calvin called me Dick,” He paused. ”They didn't like it when he did that, so it was only when we were alone. I don’t remember much. Sorry." 

"They? What? Why don't you remember? ...Wait, _Talon_? As in that dumbass nursery-rhyme parents used to tell us as kids to stop us being little shits?" Jason scoffed. "Yeah right, I'm going. I’m not that stupid." 

"Not messing with you. Wait." Talon walked over to the mattress before rifling through the blankets, looking for something. About 5 seconds later he'd found it, and was walking back over to Jason, knife glinting in the low light. "Watch." 

"What the fuck? Get away from me!" Jason scrambled back as Talon reached out and a cold hand encircled Jason’s wrist keeping him in place. 

"Won't hurt you, ever. This is for me, not you. Watch." And with that he let go of Jason's arm, and drew a line across his palm with the knife, creating a deep gash without showing the slightest discomfort on his face and then stood staring at him. 

" _What the fuck_? You're crazy! I'm fucking out of… here…" Jason trailed off at the end of his sentence and had to clamp his jaw shut, watching as the cut on Talon's palm seemed to heal itself in a matter of seconds, the blood clotting instantly and the skin stitching itself back together before his eyes. "Oh shit, oh _shit_ , what?" 

"No ‘ _funny business’_ , see? I'm Talon, The Court made it so we could heal. It’s why I look like this.” 

“Shit okay, I thought that was just some kind of weird illness... Can I see?” Jason asked, reaching for the now fully healed hand, turning it over and inspecting it closely once Talon had given it to him. “This is fucking crazy, next you’ll be telling me Batman is fucking Bruce Wayne... What did you say they called you again? Not Talon, the other names; Dick and?” 

“Cobb called me Grayson, Calvin called me Dick, both sometimes Richard, never in front of the rest of the court. Why?” 

Jason dropped his still bloody hand and looked up at him. "I'm not calling you Talon, that’s weird. You choose the name and that’s what I’ll call you. I’m Jason, by the way.” 

Talon frowned thinking for a bit. “Dick.” 

Jason raised an eyebrow, a look he’d seen on Cobb many times when he’d done something that his great-grandfather disapproved of. “ _Dick_? You’re sure?” 

“Yes; that’s what Calvin called me. Dick or Dickie. I liked Calvin.” 

“Alright, Dick it is then.” Jason seemed to find something amusing about that, and Tal- _Dick_ wasn’t sure why. 

\- 

Over the next week, Jason slowly got used to his new companion. When the sun broke over the city’s skyline late the morning after their first encounter, it had finally given Jason a good glimpse of his saviour/captor/whatever he was. His skin looked dull and sickly, yet it was still a few shades darker than Jason’s own tan and his veins were weirdly prominent, stretching across his entire body and face, reaching equally odd coloured blue eyes. His hair was dark, whether or not it was black or very dark brown, Jason was yet to decide. His outfit turned out to be some weird kind of leggings, looked thicker and more durable than most but he couldn't be sure of the material, a big puffa-jacket zipped right up to his chin, and what seemed to be _toe-divider shoes_? _Gross_ , Jason thought, _At least they aren’t crocs though_. Dick just claimed they were practical when Jason asked about them. 

Jason had seen much worse when living on the streets, no one's appearance could really phase him much anymore anyway. 

It was nice having someone to talk to without worrying if they were going to stab you. Jason wondered if he was trusting too easily, not something he normally had to worry about, but something in him was drawn to the older boy. Whether or not it was the fact that Dick seemed to trust him just as much or the fact that, despite knowing full well that Dick could easily take a man twice his size down without breaking a sweat, he never showed the slightest sign of wanting to hurt Jason. Or he could just be reading far too into it. 

Dick would disappear every night around dusk and return just before the sun rose the next day, arms full of more food and drink than Jason could count and on occasion, another blanket or coat. Jason only knew this as no matter how light Dick’s treads were, he couldn’t muffle the rustling sound of cheap bags of chips as he dropped them on the floor next to the mattress, and living on the streets had made Jason a light sleeper. Somehow Dick was always able to tell when Jason had woken up and would just tell him to go back to sleep as he'd walk over to the chair in the corner of the room next to the window, where he'd wrap himself up in blankets and just stare out the glass, watching the city outside. 

In the end, it was the food that convinced Jason to stay; he couldn't remember the last time he'd been able to eat whenever he was hungry, and it was great. He was in a better mood than he had been in at least a year, and he could chalk it up to multiple things; the food, the comfort, and shelter. Simple as it was and, despite his obvious resistance to talking for long periods, Dick too. 

Dick was odd, but not in a way that made Jason uncomfortable or fearful, and he quickly learnt that some of Dick's strange quirks made him seem more human than undead assassin, so he found himself warming up to him much quicker than he previously thought he could warm up to anyone. He'd promptly come to realise that Dick had escaped from the Court maybe 4 months ago but it hadn't been easy. He seemed to withdraw into himself whenever Jason asked why he'd left in the first place if all he was doing was worrying himself into a frenzy about being found and not living the life that he'd gone through what seemed like hell to get; it didn't seem like freedom to Jason. In the end, Dick would always end up ignoring him, and continue to look out for anything even slightly off every time he sat in his chair staring out into Gotham's deserted streets. 

One night around two weeks later, however, Dick arrived back at their hideout earlier than usual, the moon was still high in the sky, giving off only the slightest light to see by - the lampost they usually used having been turned off a few hours previous, due to monetary savings - looking panicked and dishevelled, which was peculiar on his usually impassive face and waking Jason up with his unusually loud movements. He walked over to Jason, making sure he was awake before turning around and grabbing some of the food left tossed around the floor as Jason started to rise off the mattress. 

"Wh-? Dick? What are you doing?" 

"Hold." Dick snapped, shoving packets and cans into Jason's arms as soon as he'd stood up, and continued scouring the room for something. 

"Dick. What's going on? What's happened?" He asked, grabbing hold of the food tightly with one arm and rubbing his eyes with the other. 

"Court knows where I am; a Talon was following me, watching me. We need to leave. Now." 

"What? Are you sure it wasn't just a different creepy assassin? They're not unusual around here... Not that you're creepy. Well, maybe just a little-." He was cut off mid-sentence when something caught his eye out the window, a brief flash of gold streaked across the rooftops before disappearing from view less than a second later. "...Oh shit okay, okay, uh- _Crap_. What do we do?" 

"I run, you hide. Won't know you're here..." Dick frowned "I think." 

"You think? Dick, what do you mean you _think_? Oh my god, are they going to kill-" He was cut off from his hysteria when Dick ran over, quick as a bullet and put his hand over Jason's mouth, muffling his increasing panic. 

"Stop. Talons can hear better. _Sh_." 

Jason nodded, watching as Dick crept back over to continue scouting, feeling increasingly sick every second he was waiting, silently hoping Dick would just leave whatever it was behind so they could run. 

"Where do I hide?" He hissed, finally breaking the silence, looking frantically around the room as if a hiding spot would appear out of thin air. 

"Basement. Cold, won't look down there." Dick let out what seemed like a sigh of relief as he'd found whatever it was he was looking for and walked briskly over to where Jason was standing, then handing him a flashlight and a knife Jason had never seen before, different from the ones Dick had first shown him. How many knives did he _have_? "Follow. Quick." Then took off running down the corridor. 

Jason ran as fast as he could, but his shorter legs and general un-athleticism meant Dick had to check over his shoulder every so often to make sure Jason was on the right path. When they finally reached the door to the basement, Jason was still struggling to catch his breath before Dick had opened the door and almost shoved Jason straight down the stairs. 

"Stay there, be _quiet_ , shine the light in their eyes if they come in. Only open if you hear this," Jason heard 10 quick knocks resound down into the basement. "Or if I don't come back soon. Maybe a day. You have food and drink. Bye." 

Dick went to walk off, but seemed to hesitate, taking far too many 'last-glances' back at Jason, before tearing off down the way they came, leaving the door wide open for Jason to roll his eyes and quietly walk up a few stairs to close it, then make his way back down, deeper into the basement of this creepy, dark, abandoned building. 

If the Talons didn't kill him, whatever lurked down here certainly would. 

\- 

Dick leapt across Gotham’s rooftops well aware that the other Talon was in active pursuit now. He had come out of nowhere and was hot on his tail, both Talons matching each other in speed, despite the size advantage the other had on Dick. The frosted terrain was proving difficult to both Talons, not only because of the challenge to keep their footing, but because of the cold affecting the electrum in their bodies, making them tired, and more liable for one of them to eventually slip up. 

Dick leapt across Gotham’s rooftops well aware that the other Talon was in active pursuit. He had come out of nowhere and was hot on his tail, both Talons matching each other in speed, despite the size advantage the other had on Dick. The frosted terrain was proving difficult to both Talons, not only because of the challenge to keep their footing, but because of the cold affecting the electrum in their bodies, making them tired, and more liable for one of them to eventually slip up. 

Dick was so focused on the path ahead of him that he hadn't even noticed the other Talon had disappeared. He skidded to a halt, head darting around trying to catch a glimpse of his pursuer, when he heard the rushing of air above him. He flipped backwards as the Talon dropped soundlessly to the ground in front of him. He snapped his hand to his side where he kept his knives and crouched down low, ready to act at a moments notice. 

"Wait." The other Talon croaked out. "Dick, wait." 

Dick's eyes widened as he realised he recognised the voice. "Calvin?" 

"Oh thank god Dickie, it is you, I've been looking for you for days. Dick, you have to listen to me," Calvin sounded winded and out of breath, unusual for a Talon, their slow beating hearts and training usually solved that problem before it happened. "You have to get out of here; the Bat got to them, he's coming after every Talon in the-" 

"Not a Talon anymore." Dick could've cried, he was safe, _Jason_ was safe, it was only Calvin; he could trust Calvin with his life. 

Calvin grabbed his shoulders, a feat he was only able to do based on years of trust built up in the court. "Dickie he won't _care_ , you have to understand that. He'll see what you look like and you won't have time to explain; you've heard the stories from the court he's ruthless!" He dropped his hands from Dick's shoulders to his hands. " _Please_ , Dick, come with me, we can get out of here. No more Talons or Bats anymore. With both of us, they'd never even hear about us again, we'd be invisible to them! We can be _safe_." 

"Safe." Dick nodded curtly. "Okay. First, we need to pick up Jason." 

"Jason?" 

"Friend. You'll like him. He calls me Dick too. Come on." Dick started to walk towards the edge of the roof, before breaking into a sprint and leaping to the next one, turning back to look at Calvin, waiting. 

Calvin quickly followed after Dick, matching pace easily. "It's lucky actually, I only found you running across the rooftops by chance, if I hadn't seen you tearing across here like a bat out of hell, I don't think I would've ever found you. What had you so spooked anyway?" 

Dick faltered for a second, but it was long enough to make Calvin send him a worried glance. "You. Saw you through the window, that was you, yes?" 

"What window Dick? I said I only saw you by chance, just now, there's no wind-" 

Dick’s panicked mind didn't even wait for him to finish before he was racing back to the apartment block he'd called home for the past month, the only thought on his mind was Jason, and the Talon he'd left him alone and pretty much defenceless with. 

**Author's Note:**

> Had to do some research on Calvin and found out he used to be a member of Haley's circus before joining the Talons and I was like ohohoh, so I tried to make him like?? idk an older brother to Dick? I don't know how old he was in canon so I made up my own age-  
> If you have any questions feel free to leave them in the comments! (This won't turn into a romantic fic btw, I'm no good at romance lol)  
> Once again, sorry for any like fuck ups in this!!


End file.
